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Lisa Cam

Jereme Leung is perhaps the most celebrated Hong Kong-Singaporean chef that you have never heard of.
Born in Hong Kong, he grew up in the Lion City and started working in the industry when he was a young teenager. Now he has almost a dozen restaurants to his name.
“I currently operate in three countries and will be opening four more restaurants in three countries over the next two years,” he says.
His most well-known restaurant is Yi by Jereme Leung, in Singapore’s Raffles Hotel.
Leung started working in a Cantonese restaurant kitchen in 1983 at the age of 13.
“I started as a dishwasher,” he recalls. “I worked my way up in a traditional Cantonese kitchen. In 1989, I travelled overseas and worked at different restaurants. I’ve been an expatriate since I was 19.”

Leung’s head start in the industry meant his climb to the top was fast, and he earned the nickname of the youngest Chinese master chef in Asia.
“I became the executive chef of a five-star hotel at 25 years old,” he says. “At the time, you didn’t find people of that age running such an esteemed establishment. It just didn’t happen.”
A private kitchen chef in Hong Kong aged 20, he was 8 when he first cooked
Leung has published five cookbooks focusing on what he describes as the new Chinese cuisine.
“The entire concept is about how I elevate traditional Chinese cuisine of different regions of China. How do we bring it to the next level? Over the years, I have explored Cantonese, Shanghainese, Beijing cuisine and more.”
Even during his time working in Southeast Asian countries, Leung was able to explore the cuisines of different Chinese regions.
“Take Thailand, for example. Most of the Chinese there are Teochew. And in Manila, where I also have a restaurant, a lot of the Chinese there are Hokkien,” he explains.
“In Singapore, the Chinese are Teochew, Hokkien, Cantonese and Hakka. So understanding the cuisine from these [people of] different regions gives me the fundamentals to summarise and elevate the cuisine. It’s what I’ve been doing my entire life.”

Leung’s latest opening is in Macau – Jiang Nan by Jereme Leung, at The Venetian Macao. Jiangnan is the part of China immediately south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and includes the city of Shanghai and the southern part of Jiangsu province.
“Historically, Jiangnan is where some of the most affluent lived in China,” explains Leung.
At the start of our hosted meal, we were treated to an explanation of the ingredients tableside by Owen Tan, senior chef of Jiang Nan. Items such as white truffles from France and hairy crab and eel from Taihu Lake in China were all explained in great detail to drive home how fresh and superior the produce in front of us was.

There followed a quintet of appetisers, including steamed eel with Jinhua ham and Taihu Lake hairy crab fat served with crabmeat, and white truffles with pork terrine.
While the presentation could give any French fine-dining institution a run for its money, the flavours on the palate were distinctly Chinese. Even the white truffles served to enhance the herbs and aspic of the Chinese-style pork terrine and add earthiness.
What showed Leung’s unique style was the Huzhou-style lamb, served in a simple noodle soup. The lamb broth clung perfectly to each strand of noodle, fine as hair – a statement in itself.

“The noodles is handmade and we can only cook it for 10 seconds,” says Leung. “But it has a distinctive bite to it that works well with the broth.”
Asked why he has not made his mark in Hong Kong yet, Leung says that it is simply economics.
“A Cantonese kitchen is actually compact and complex. You need someone to be in charge of the barbecued meat, such as char siu and roast goose, as well as a different chef for dim sum.
“There’s a separate chef for wok frying and another for knife work. When you think about the capital overhead and how many baskets of dim sum you have to sell to make up for it, then Hong Kong rental prices make it tough. But never say never.”


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Food and Drinks

Jereme Leung, the top Hong Kong-Singaporean chef that you have probably never heard of, owns nearly a dozen restaurants and has penned 5 cookbooks

Hong Kong-Singaporean chef Jereme Leung started working at a Cantonese restaurant in Singapore in 1983 at age 13. Today, he has five cookbooks and almost a dozen restaurants to his name. Photo: Jiang Nan by Jereme Leung

Leung in 2004 in the kitchen of Vong, a restaurant that used to be in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong. 

Cookbook “New Shanghai Cuisine” by Jereme Leung. Photo: Jonathon Wong

A quintet of appetisers at Jiang Nan by Jereme Leung. Photo: Lisa Cam

Jiang Nan by Jereme Leung is inside The Venetian Macao. Photo: Jiang Nan by Jereme Leung

4 Hangzhou restaurants that prove city is a food desert no more, from a seafood spot with a Michelin sommelier to a Jiangnan joint in a bamboo forest

Ru Yuan - Yellow wine braised Jin Hua pork belly, cooked over a low heat, is crowned with fried Long Jing tea leaves. Photo: Alex Ang

Taizhou yellow croaker from Wild Yeast, one of our pick of four restaurants in the historical Chinese city that prove it is no longer a “food desert”. Photo: Alex Ang

Ru Yuan is in Hangzhou Botanical Garden. Photo: Alex Ang

Ru Yuan’s chef-founder Fu Yue Liang, a Hangzhou native with 40 years of culinary experience. Photo: Alex Ang

Qiantang River long snout fish fish ball served in a clear fish bone broth with juicy Yunnan teardrop peas, at Ru Yuan. Photo: Alex Ang

Ru Yuan’s paofan features a thick broth made from soy-sauce-marinated, air-dried duck, poured over a crisp rice ball. Photo: Alex Ang

Yellow-wine-braised Jinhua pork belly at Ru Yuan. Photo: Alex Ang

Wild Yeast’s head chef, Lin Zihan, prepares a dish. Photo: Alex Ang

Live king prawn is served sashimi style in a salad with peanuts and white fungus at Wild Yeast. Photo: Alex Ang

Deep-fried Bombay duck served with a dip that’s like Worcestershire sauce, at Wild Yeast. Photo: Alex Ang

The interior of Jie Xiang Lou. Photo: Alex Ang

Jie Xiang Lou’s signature mini beggar’s chicken. Photo: Alex Ang

Jie Xiang Lou’s old duck soup. Photo: Alex Ang

Lan Xuan is housed in a restored old building within Hangzhou’s Amanfayun resort. Photo: Alex Ang

Steamed Qing Yuan chicken served with Yunnan porcini and morel mushrooms, at Lan Xuan. Photo: Alex Ang

Lan Xuan’s claypot rice cooked with bamboo shoots and topped with queen crabmeat dusted with yuzu zest. Photo: Alex Ang

US$10,000 sushi? It’s coming to Miami – and that’s just the fee to join members-only Sushi Namba, headed by the chef behind Tokyo’s fifth-best sushi spot

How much would you be willing to pay for a sushi omakase meal? A top sushi chef from Tokyo will be opening a members-only sushi restaurant in Miami, Florida. The fee just to get in is US$10,000. Meals will cost upwards of US$400 per person. Photo: TNS

Bonito nigiri from Sushi Namba in Japan. Photo: Instagram/@taki_sushimania

Otoro nigiri from Sushi Namba in Japan. Photo: Instagram/@taki_sushimania

Why a Chinese-Canadian food writer has made Hong Kong cocktail bar Kinsman a shrine to Cantonese liquor – to revive the city’s ‘forgotten history’

Hong Kong cocktail bar Kinsman’s founder, Gavin Yeung. Born in Vancouver, the Chinese-Canadian food writer turned bartender talks about his mission to save Hong Kong’s “forgotten history” by serving drinks made with Cantonese spirits. Photo: May Tse

Kinsman’s backbar, sparser than most, is a gallery of underappreciated and often misunderstood spirits manufactured in and near Hong Kong. Photo: May Tse 

The Kowloon Dairy, inspired by milk cap tea, is one of the cocktails on offer at Kinsman. Photo: Kinsman

The entrance to Kinsman. Photo: May Tse 

Kinsman’s interior, which takes cues from 1950s-style diners and Japanese kissaten cafes. Photo: May Tse 

Kinsman’s Satsuma Snow is a mix of jiuniang (sweet rice wine), sweet potato shochu, black sugar, coffee umeshu (Japanese plum liquor), citrus and sesame oil. Photo: Kinsman

Kinsman’s Papaya Van Winkle. Photo: Kinsman

Kinsman’s Milk & Honey. Photo: Kinsman

Kinsman will feature a range of sweet desserts such as poached pear with red dates and snow fungus. Photo: Kinsman

Authentic Indian dishes that ‘sing the songs of olden times’ in Hong Kong: ex-Chaat chef on how restaurant Leela tells a history of India

Manav Tuli, the founding chef de cuisine of Michelin-star Chaat in Hong Kong, is opening a new restaurant, Leela, featuring dishes from India’s Mauryan empire. Photo: Lisa Cam

The inside of Leela in Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island. Photo: Leela

Bone marrow biryani at Leela. Photo: Leela

Chukandar oxtail gosht at Leela. Photo: Leela

Peshwari naan at Leela. Photo: Leela

Tuli will showcase dishes from the Mauryan empire, which “used to be one of the greatest empires of India”. Photo: Lisa Cam

Third-culture cooking? Inside TikTok star Jon Kung’s nostalgic new recipe book, starring authentically Asian-American fusions curry mac and cheese, dan dan lasagne, Hong Kong chicken and waffles …

American chef and TikTok influencer Jon Kung’s new book conjures up third culture cooking that leans on his heritage, growing up in Hong Kong, the US and Canada. Photo: Handout

Jon Kung’s Jerk Chow Mein

Jon Kung’s Kung Food: Chinese-American Recipes from a Third Culture Kitchen

Jon Kung’s Faygo Orange Chicken

Jon Kung’s Hong Kong Borscht

Jon Kung’s Nasi Goreng

Jon Kung’s Hong Kong Chicken and Waffles

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Hong Kong-Singaporean chef Jereme Leung began working in a restaurant at age 13. Now he has almost a dozen restaurants to his name and five published cookbooks
Leung’s latest opening is in Macau – Jiang Nan by Jereme Leung, in The Venetian Macao. While the presentation looks French, the flavours are distinctly Chinese


Jereme Leung, born in Hong Kong but who grew up in Singapore, started working at a Cantonese restaurant in 1983, aged 13. Today the chef has five cookbooks and almost a dozen restaurants to his name.


Hong Kong

Hong Kong chefs

Singapore

Chinese cuisine